Howaed eabx hooveb



2 Sheets-Sheet,

Inven+or Howard` Earl Hoover' BY www H. E. HOOVER March 4, 1930.

sUcTIoN CLEANER origina Filed Nov. 1, 1922 5 2 l 6, u il@ n f qu (IVA. e a s I ma v W t 5 R m Mw 4 Y S .l mma W H m 2 l an Url\\ um lm uw w f n .d A R R 1i. "v wv/.- r YM E Nn v. o a B 1 V A O W M 5. l o QJ m m n H i m l a., H S m 3 6 WIQ wIU. 4 U' March 4, 1930.

Reuma Mar'. 4, 1930 jiuNrrl-:D STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE j HOWARD nur. HOOVER, or GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, rAssIefNoiaJ BY IIEsNE' ,assautNiuEN'rs,`

TO THE HOOVER/COMPANY, Or NORTH CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF' OHIO SU'CTIQN CLEANER original No. 1,634,247, ama april 12, 192i', semi N. 598,251, mea November 1, 192:1. 15pm-ation for reissue led January 28, 1929. Serial No. 335,726.

My invention relates in general to suction- L cleaners and in particular .to that type of cleaners-illustrated and disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,147,307, granted to Francis M.

Case, and reissued as No. 14,3873., ,October k In suction-cleaners, and particularly in the typefmentioned above, where the suctionnozzle is situated at a substantial distance i tothe nozzle and held thereagainst by atmospheric pressure, the pressure within the nozz e being reducedby any suitable means, for example, a centrifugal fan or" air-pump. Floor coverin under such conditions,as

sume a wave-like formation' beneath the, cleaner nozzle vv,and this wave has a crest which conforms to the shape of the cleanernozzle and travels alongthe floor covering with the 'cleaner `as it is moved along; This wave likeformation, for the sake of convenience, will be termed the primary wave of the carpet, fand is due tothe combined effect of the vacuum and theraised i a In Order todislod the dirt, especially `1 'that .which is'. imbed ed'ftherein,y from the thus raised floor covering suspended across dirt, on account of its inertia, remains approximately stationary, .'while the' carpetis driven'away', from i'ts'original position; 'The aldthe air current-'picks up'the looseand' f collecting receptacle. yI have discovered nt the best' time to' strike onbeat 'thecarpet is at 'that-point of its. upward travel;l when the jisjreturning 'withthemaximum veleafy, *An msnm-Q ftra-ir'eifersagofjibe Inotionby the beatin '.lblow develops the" fie'dust andlhas the i maximump inertia' of loosening, eieet'.A 'This latter point Prior to .my inventior'i,l itihas been' custom.- 50 ary to employ' abeating agent in the lform of from the Hoor, the floor covering is raised.'

position ofthe nozzlemouth above the cai'-, s pet and above the fioor.

.is v not deyelo ed, because instead of most viovacuuml returns the carpet to its old,position 'eifective time for most speedy reversal of action or most ,rapid acceleration away from a rotating body upon which one or more hellcal rowsfof beating elementsaremounted. These elements are usually in the forni of a contm'uous row or series of bunches of bristles arranged in a 'helical line around the rotatin body. With this ltype of beater a wavee ,formation, which we will terrh the secondary wave, is set up in the floor-covering thattravels along the crest ofthe primary wave from one. end 'of the rotor to thel other, dependin upon the direction of the helical rows of eating elements and. representing the movement of the carpet as beating blows succeed each other, moving the car et against or in opposition to its primary de ection.- On account of these two motions the carpet is iexedfin two directions, irst, I upward by the vacuum, and then downward,l by the series of beating blows one after the' other, which causes the free ends ofthe carpet pile lto Aspread out'fan-like and. allow, the

vimbedded dirt at the base of the'fcarpet to escape, partl under the influence of 'inertiaand partly ue to the frictionofl theaircurrent between the' separated threadsof the, carpet.; .Y

i., .In the usual t pe of beatil'g-rotor-where the elements ,stri e the carpet ac )nseciitively'- in theirorder from one end ofthe rowtothef] other', thelcarpet pushed awayby' a'blow.offgb `one element does not valways.ha'ye 'timeigto return to the `most favorable-positiongto'receive a blow from the next element with the result .that themaximum inertia o gthe, dust lently reversing. the motion of thecarpet it manner-of a-screwjconveyor'instead'of by a., series-.of .positivenlows delivered at the most the dust.

When usin a beater of the rotary type, y

miv

:have termed the sequence of the same. The

p eriodcity `and sequence indirectly fix the t1me inlterval'between-successive blows, the 100 n pet when successive blows are struck.

Periodicity, where the`` rotor providesl a fixed number of blows per revolution, is a function of the motor-speed and the ratio of diameter of the. rotor and'rotor-pulleys. With a given motor speed and pulley ratio the periodicity can be adjusted by the grouping of the elements, for example, by having two or more elements strike the car et 'simultaneously. Sequence Vis fixed by t e angles between successively contacting beater arms.

It has been found by experiment that the best periodicity and sequence for one carpet may not be the best for another and that Vit varies according to the physical characteristics of the carpet, suchas the weight, thickness', and so forth' and with the character of the dirt imbedded in it."

In every case the vacuum as the returning forcemay be a .factor in the selection of the best periodicity and sequence becausel there is no advanta e in striking the carpet until it has returne to the most 'favorable position, as referred to above. It is desirable that the greatest number of blows be struck consistent with com lete return of the carpet to the best position or the next blow of any one beater.

It' will, therefore, be ,seen that with a suction-cleaner having a fixed motor speed, pulley ratio, and vacuum, the periodicity and sequence Lbest adapted for a given carpet having a given kind of dirt therein is most conveniently secured by varying the arrangement of the beating elements on the rotor.

As stated above, 4it has been customaryheretofore, to useV as beating elements,

' bunches of bristles, which perform the function of both beating and sweeping the floorcovering acted upon and in order' to secure a proper beating effect, the bristles must be made stiffer than is necessary or desirable for eiiicient sweeping. In other words, where a single means is employed to both beat and sweep the floor-covering, a sacrifice in both beating and sweeping eiliciency must be made in order to secure both functions in a single unit. and where means designed exclusively for beating are employed, the machine can have Vbut little sweeping'action, which is essential in `removing lint and other forms of surface litter. t f

With the above in view, one object of my invention is to provide a beating-rotor, the periodicity and seqence of which can be adjusted to any particular kind of carpet and for any kind .of dirt lodged therein.`

A; further Objectis to provide a suction cleaner with a beating-element adaptedtO strike the carpet or objectjo be cleanedjat the most favorable moment and in, the -most elective` mannerV for good cleaning.4 f

A still further Objectis to provide a suction-cleaner of the type described with means Figure 1 is a ylongitudinal sectional view i.

of a suction-cleaner made in accordance with myinvention,'showing certain parts thereof in elevation;

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the beating and sweeping rotormade in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 2; Figures 3, 4 and 5 are each' views in elevation of` modified forms of beating rotors;

Figures 6,` 7 and 8 illustrate in detail a modified form of beating element; and

Figures 9 and 10 are detail views of a A modified form of beating element. i

I have incor orated my invention in a suction-cleaner ormed of an aluminum casting 10 to which is pivotally secured a handle 1.1. In this casting 10 is formed a fan-chamber 12 having an outlet 13 ada ted to receive a dust-collecting bag, and an in et-opening 14 which connects with a suction-chamber 15 extending through the front of the casting and formed with a downwardly-facing suction-mouth 16 provided with lips 17.

On the castin 10 is mounted an electricmotor 18 the sha t 19 of which carries the fanrotor 20 andthe pulley 21, thellatter being positioned in the rear of the suction-chamber. The rear of the casting is supported by means of the vertically-adjustable wheels 22 and y lthe front by means ofk rotatably mounted cartion-chamber adjustable rotor-supports 24 are mounted on the end-wall 25, these supports inf turn carryin shaft 26 upon which is rotatably mounte the hollow-tube 27 'fforming the body of the beating-rotor. This rotor-body is provided intermediate its'ends with the pulley 28 which is connected toF1 the vpulley 21 on the motor-shaft by means of the belt 29 which is given a 90turn.

In order that the periodicity and sequence 'j of the blows struck the floor-covering may be varied as desired, I have, inthe .embodiment of my invention illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 rovide'd vthe rotor-body 27 with alurality Ao adjustablebeating elements, the etails of legen;V

which are illustrated in Figures 9 and 10.

e Each beating element, as shown in these fig- .i made of resilient material which is bent into adjustable member, at a ures, comprises a block provided in one `face with a socket 31 adapted to receive a bunch of bristles 32, which are secured therein by means of a in 33. In order to 4-clamp the block 30 to t e rotor-body 27 .in any desired position, I have provided a clamp-strap 34 a U-shape so as to encircle partiall the rotorbody, and have its ends 35 and 36 yingalong the side faces of the block at aA sli ht angle thereto so as to allow it to clamp e rotor.- body when vthe ends are drawn toward each other by means of a screw 37. The end 36 of the clamp is bent back as at 38 and both parts are provlded with registering screw-threaded 4apertures 39 receiving the screw 37. On aocount ofthe resiliency of the material used in the clamping-strap the bent back portion be 38 acts as a lock-nut for'the screw. Each point opposite the bristle tugts, is provided wlth a beating-member comprising a smooth rounded contacting surface shown as a sphere 40 mounted on a rigid rod 41 which is provided with a reduced- Y 5 portion 42 adapted to be upset in an aperture 43 1n the clamping-strap 34. With this construction, I am` able not onl to secure a rotor that isin correct kinetic ba ance by properly distributing the masses around -the ycenter of gravity in any given plane, but `am also able to secure an a justabvle member for the rotor which is composed. of one member designed exclusively or beating and another' member designed primarily for sweeping. ,Y

j In order to insure a positive blow upon the i object being cleaned and to allow it to return to the most favorable position before the-next succeeding blow is struck, I have arranged the adjustable elements, as shown in Figures 1- and 2 in 'groups of three, placed in `aline running axially of the rotor-brush.. These groups lorf adjustable elements vin turn Y have been t equally spaced circumferentially and axially. SQA that yt p 1n the order designated by numerals 1, 2, 3, 4,

ey strike the object being cleaned 5, and 6, Figure 2. Such an arrangement may I4'be regardedas consisting of two helical-rows @understood that I have shown the adjustable v .elements in groupsof three for the sake ofr illustratingpmy invention'ionly and that the number inieach group and the positioning of uevident'thal'f ,the time'bintcvalsbetween. blows of groups of adjustable elements. It is to be eachA group may bevaried as desired. With this construction, I am ableto strikea more,

j positive `blow on the crest of the primary waves than would be the case if each bristle bunch or beating-member'wasset ata different angle, because inthis latter case each beating member -would contactwith the object being cleanedsocloselyafter the next adjacent one as tobeatthe object before it has time toreturn to' its most favorable position: It is in 'order from'one end to `the other. nparing Figures 2 and 4 itwill be noted in so. far as-the action of the bristle bunches. A

members are arranged in larger groups.

ably an directly to the rotor-body 44. The t brushing member 45 consists of a series of bunches of soft bristles arranged about the rotor-body in a single helical row extending substantially from one end of it to the other and -making a Vcomplete turn circumferentially aboutI the rotor-body. The beatingmember 46 consists of a series of s hericall 'heads mounted upon yrigid rods 47 w ich are mounted upon the rotor-body in a Vmanner identical with that of the brushing-member, except that a beating-member is .arranged diametrically opposite each sweepmg-memthe beating and sweeping-is performed by a'series offbunchea, of bristles 48. These bunches of bristles I have arranged in groups v of three placed in a line running axially of the rotor-body. These groups of bristle bunches in turn have been equally spaced circumferentially and axiallyso lthat they strike the object being cleaned consecutively alone is considered, that the periodicity of the two rotors is'the same, but that the se- Iquence is different, the rotor shown in Figure ows 2 bein adapted to strike successive b with t e same time interval betweenthem but at greater distances apart on the carpet,

and this allowsm'ore timefor thecarpet or objectbeing cleaned to return without reducin the number of blows pert minute. t

' n Fi re 5 I have illustrated a rotor-body rovide with elements designed exclusively or beatin a-nd with .elements designed exclusively or sweeping of thejobject being cleaned. These elements have been arranged in axially-aligned groupsfand the roups in turn arranged in al helical row a out thev rotor-body. Each group of elements cmprises a plurality of sweeping-members 49 toether-with vone beating-member 50 and the eating-member is so arranged with respect r. In Figure 4I have .illustrated a .form of beating and'sweeping rotor in2wh1ch both jms to the sweepin -member of its own particuf Y t the cleaned by the'beating-member is also covered by the sweeping-element which formsl a part ofthe next' adjacent group of elements.

Such an arrangement as this insures the ob- '.roup and t e group next adjacent therepath left on the object being jectbeing 4cleaned will be 'subjected' to a Y sweepin action at every point along the line oft erotor-body. A v Figures 6 y7 and 8 'illustrate a modified form' of a block 51 receiving the tufts of bristles 52 has secured to it, by means of rivets 53, one end of a resilient strap 54 which encircles the rotor-body. Theother end 55 of the resilient strap lies along the side-face of the block l and is provided with an aperture 56 through which extends a 'screw 57 having engagement with -the block 51 and by means of guard lin ers 60 extending across the mouth to limit t e extent to which the floor 'covering is raised from the floor to prevent it being drawn too far into the suction mouth Where it Would have the `undesirable effect of preventing efficient beating action.

The ard lingers further determine the shape tit the.object being cleaned vvill assume under the action ofthe suction, and as shown, are all made of the same shape so that the action of the beating elements will be uniform from one end of the suction mouth to the other. y f

Those skilled in this art will readily understand that theinvention is not limited and restricted to the precise and exact embodiment of the same depicted in the drawings and described in detail above, but that the A.invention is susceptible ofavarietyofembodiments varying more or less in mechanical details but all incorporating the main underlying rinciples of .my invention. All of such c anges may be included. in the structure Without departure from the substance and essence of the invention and without sacrifice of any of its substantial benefits and advantages.

`1.. In a suction-cleaning device, the combination of a casing having a mouthwith means for moving a current ofl air therethrough and movably suspending the fabric to be cleaned thereat, and means for beating the fabric to be cleaned so as to impart a vibratory or fluttering motion thereto, the beating means comprising a rotating shaft, adjustable beating members on ,said shaft, whereby the periodicity and sequence of said beating-fneans may be varied and separate means for brushing the surface of the fabric to be cleaned, said beating and brushing means mounted on the same rotating body.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combinationf of a casing provided with a suction mouth andmeans for supporting said casing with 'the plane'of the suction mouth a substantial distance' above the` surface of the'object to be cleaned,'a series of guard fingers carried` by said casing and extending across said suction mouth, and'means for suspending said object to be cleaned against said uard lingers and for moving a current o air past said object and thru said casing, a rotor mounted in the casing, rigid beating elements havin@ orbits of travel extending beyond the surface defined by the guard fingers xed to the rotor and extending substantially from end to end thereof and brush members secured to the rotor.

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing provided With a suction mouth and means for supporting said casing with the l plane of the suction mouth a substantial distance above an object to be cleaned, means carried by said casing acting to edect suspension of said object against said casing, a rotor mounted in the casing, rigid beating elements rigidly mounted on said rotor and arrangedv longitudinally of said mouth, and brush members secured to said rotor.

' 4. The combination With a suction cleaner, of a rotor therefor comprising a body, rigid beating members extending radially therefrom, and radially extending brushes mounted on -said body, said beating members being j adjustable circumferentially of said body.

5. The combination with a suction cleaner, y

of a rotor therefor comprising a bod portion, and brushesand rigidly mounte beating members extendin radially from said body portion, said brus es and beaters being adjustably secured to said body Vand adapted to be adjusted to various fixed positions circumferentiall of said rotor body.

6. The com ination with a suction cleaner, of a rotor therefor comprising a body portion, and rigid beating members rigidly mounted upon said body portion and adjustable circumferentially thereon.

7. The combination with a suction ycleaner comprising a casing provided with a' suction mouth and means for supporting said casv ing with the plane of said suction mouth a substantial distance above a floor covering and means carried by said casing acting to effect suspension of the floor covermg against said casing at said mouth, of a rotor mounted in said casing above said mouth, said rotor having radially projecting rigid beating elements rigidly mounted thereon and arranged substantially from end to end of said suction mouth, and having brush members thereon circumferentially spaced from'said beating elements and positioned longitudinally of said rotor to act upon thesame portion of the floor covering as the beating elements.

HOWARD EARL HOOVER. 

